Tips to Beat Wedding Planning Stress

After relishing in the excitement of becoming engaged and spending the rest of your life with your best friend, it’s time to begin planning for your big day. Of course you’ll need to select a venue and a caterer, then it’s on to other vendors such as a florist and a DJ. While all of this decision making is bringing you one step closer to your big day, it’s completely normal to feel overwhelmed along the way. Added stress, especially during wedding planning, can have a negative affect on you both mentally and physically and can potentially keep you from feeling 100 percent on one of the best days of your life. In honour of Stress Awareness Month taking place throughout April, and the upcoming wedding season, we’re sharing some tips below on how to positively channel these anxious feelings in order to enjoy your planning experience as well as your wedding day.

Book Trial Runs

Let’s face it, everybody stresses about their appearance on an average day, so just imagine not feeling amazing on your wedding day, which also happens to be one of the most photographed days of your life. To help ensure you’re happy with your look when the big day rolls around, book a few trial appointments with your glam squad ahead of time. Brides-to-be, call your makeup artist and hairstylist to go over your desired wedding day hair and makeup. Bring along visuals such as photos from your Pinterest board or the colour scheme you’re going with for inspiration. Planning your look ahead of time will not only give you an idea of how beautiful you’ll look on your wedding day, but also provide an opportunity to tweak details here and there to be sure there are no surprises when the big day rolls around.

Bonus Tip: Guys, visiting your barber or hair stylist ahead of time has added benefits for you as well. Whether you’re looking to achieve that perfect beard, or the stress of wedding planning has left your hair a little thinner than you’d like it to be, your stylist can suggest products such as beard oil to help condition your facial hair, or finasteride, a treatment used to promote hair growth. After-all, this is your big day too!

Practice Self-Care

At times, it may feel like wedding planning is taking over your life. Between emails, phone calls and meetings with vendors, prepping for your big day can feel like a full time job. In order to avoid burnout, establishing a self-care routine is a must! By definition, self-care is the practice of taking an active role in one’s well being. However, the beauty of this is, the possibilities to engage in it are endless. Whether it’s a nightly beauty routine complete with a bubble bath and face mask followed by the application of your favourite anti-aging cream, or an hour spent at your local coffee shop reading a few pages of a new book, carving out a little time for yourself is a great way to combat stress and give your mind and body a break.

Break a Sweat

A great way to channel stress is adding a workout into your daily routine. While exercise and a balanced diet are a great way to shed a few pounds before your wedding day, getting physical has benefits that stretch far beyond weight loss. Physical activity releases endorphins in the brain which cause you to feel happy. Exercise also provides the body with an increase in energy and boosts immunity to help fight off any stress-induced sickness. The other great thing about exercise is that you don’t have to be an amazing athlete in order to partake. A simple walk around your neighbourhood each day can bring you more stress-relief than you’d think. However, if you’re pressed for time but still interested in putting your body to work, you can visit your local gym and check out a HIIT class. In order to maintain accountability, get your partner involved and exercise together. This is a great opportunity for both of you to step away from wedding planning and participate in an activity together.

Wedding planning and all the emotion that comes along with it will be a time in your life you will always remember. You want these memories to be happy ones, and while feeling a little stressed is a given, doing your best to keep your cool and channel that stress through participating in some of the tips above is a sure-fire way to ensure that you will look and feel your best when the big day rolls around!

If you would like your wedding to be environmentally friendly, check out these tips: